Title: This I KnowAuthor: DigiExpertPairing: Shizuru/NatsukiRating: PGPrompt: "What the heart thinks, the mouth speaks."Word Count: 1710Summary: For Shizuru, it had been a long day. She would be glad to finally see it end. She finds a certain biker in her apartment upon her arrival home, but will it stay a good surprise?Notes: I really think this one had a mind of its own. I wasn't expecting it to end as it did. This was the first fic I did for the latest round on yuri_challenge on LiveJournal. It's all about proverbs, hence the prompt I was given above.

She walked purposefully, even though her head ached and her feet were killing her. At last she could return to her apartment and relax. She was exhausted, and felt that she might drop into bed as soon as she crossed the threshold. Her daily shift waitressing had been stressing, and once again she’d been on her feet constantly the past five hours. She had only been scheduled to work three hours that day, but one of the other girls had had to leave early due to a family emergency, and she had been asked to cover. She could not simply say no, even if she wanted to.

On top of all that, it hadn’t been the best of days. It had been one of the worst in a while. From low marks on papers she thought she’d done well on to being grabbed and pinched at work, things hadn’t improved. nao she could collect her thoughts and prepare for the next day, hoping to put this one behind her.

She still had work for University to complete before she could truly call it a night. Part of her calculated the benefit of going to bed immediately and waking up a few hours early. It was appealing and attractive, but she knew that there was the possibility she’d simply ignore the alarm. It had happened to her before, nao that she thought about it. No, it would be best to finish her work before she crashed.

Her key slipped into the lock and turned, opening the door. She absentmindedly slipped off her shoes as she entered and turned to shut the door. As she turned back around, she jumped in surprise. An all too familiar biker was sitting on her couch. “Ara, has Natsuki come to tuck me into bed?” She grinned, a playful smile spreading across her face.

“N-no!” retorted the younger girl, crossing her arms. A faint blush was creeping across her face, so strange in contrast to the biker attire. “And don’t speak that way either! Sheesh. You act like a child when you do.”

“Natsuki doesn’t like my speaking?” Shizuru played up the moment, pouting. “Then I should stop talking.”

Both of them knew that Natsuki wouldn’t make good on that threat, but Shizuru knew it was best to stop tormenting the girl. “All right, I’ll stop.” She put up her hands in defeat.

Natsuki sighed. “Why do you speak like that anyway?”

“I like seeing you get all flustered when I do.” She grinned. “You get so red in the face and it’s rather cute. And you’re only making it cuter nao the redder you get.” She took a seat by Natsuki on the couch.

In turn, Natsuki scooted away, trying to avoid Shizuru. However, the couch only had so much space in which to accomplish this. A mere foot separated them. Natsuki crossed her arms and looked away. She began to flail when Shizuru suddenly put her arms around her shoulders. Shizuru giggled, but didn’t let up.

“You don’t listen, do you? It’s like I’m talking to a wall, a lavender wall!”

“One that drinks tea often?” suggested Shizuru.

“Yes, one that drinks—“ she glared when she realized what Shizuru had done. Shizuru only giggled politely into Natsuki’s hair.

Knowing that she had teased Natsuki plenty for one night, she stopped. She snuggled Natsuki, pulling her close against her. Teasing Natsuki had relaxed her mind, and she didn’t feel so exhausted anymore. Natsuki was a welcome surprise. “I’m glad you came.”

Shizuru sighed, loosening her grip on the younger girl. Her sigh led to concern forming on Natsuki’s face, and Shizuru knew she thought she’d said the wrong thing. She gave a small smile to show her it was all right. “It’s been a long day. Forgive me for acting oddly.”

“You weren’t acting oddly. You were just…” Natsuki searched for the right words to convey what she wanted. “Being you.”

“You don’t mind?”

“Not really. It’s annoying sometimes when you overdo it, but it’s all right. Tell me about your day.” Natsuki situated the both of them so that she could put her arms around Shizuru’s waist and the girl could lay her head upon her chest.

Shizuru smiled and curled up on the couch. She spoke honestly about her day, no longer having to act reserved and quiet, as everyone expected her to. By nao, the personality she wore in public was one she was used to. It was second nature to her. With Natsuki here, she could let forth all of her emotions, which included being able to rant about the difficulties she’d encountered. “…And after I got to work, it wasn’t long before some pig of a man grabbed my ass,” she remarked. She noticed Natsuki trying to stifle a giggle behind one of her hands, but she was failing. “Whatever is so funny about that?” she demanded. That incident hadn’t been funny in the least! She had felt so ashamed afterward.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that it’s funny to hear you curse. I’m not used to it.” Natsuki stopped trying to hide her laughter and snickered. She stopped suddenly when Shizuru stood up and glared down at her. “Hey, wait. I didn’t mean it!” Her words received no reply; all she saw was Shizuru’s retreating backside.

The darkness of her room didn’t bother her much. Natsuki’s teasing wasn’t something that normally would get to her so easily, but today hadn’t been the best of days. She didn’t need someone else going against her. She crawled onto the bed, curling up. Maybe it would be best to sleep and complete her work in the morning. Surely Natsuki could show herself out. Cursing indeed! Why was it so funny when she said it? Just because it wasn’t normal for her? She frowned, a bit of anger bubbling up inside.

Natsuki crept down the hallway, trying to be as quiet as she could. She felt bad about what she had said, and wouldn’t have said it if she had known how Shizuru would react. She had a habit sometimes of spouting off whatever came to mind without thinking it through. She paused in the doorway, looking at the shadowy form of Shizuru. She knew in her heart that she had to make it right. She didn’t want to be on nonspeaking terms with the girl. She really did enjoy Shizuru’s company, even if she did resort to third person speak at times.

She crossed the carpeted floor and hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed. So far so good. She hadn’t been told to leave just yet. Tentatively she reached out, resting a hand on Shizuru’s shoulder. Still nothing, not even a negative reaction. nao she would just have to speak without messing up her words or faltering in her courage.

Even though she felt Natsuki’s hand, she didn’t say anything. She didn’t feel like speaking up. She felt awful about what she’d done, but she wouldn’t correct it. She could tell from the grip that Natsuki was nervous. It was hard for her to open up and say what was on her mind when they hadn’t had a disagreement. It was even harder nao. She wondered if Natsuki would give up and simply leave. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t think it would happen, but with the way things had gone today…

“I’m sorry, Shizuru. I mean it too. I didn’t mean to laugh at you.” There was a moment of silence as Natsuki pondered over what to say next. She finally decided to keep it simple and to the point. “I don’t want to hurt you like that. Forgive me?” She waited with baited breath for Shizuru to reply. It seemed as though minutes passed. She was afraid Shizuru was really mad at her, and wanted nothing to do with her.

It was then that Shizuru rolled over. Natsuki couldn’t read the emotions in her eyes, and wondered if that was a good or bad thing. Shizuru reached out, tugging on Natsuki’s jacket. She pulled her down onto the bed, forcing Natsuki to quickly adjust. Satisfied, Shizuru snuggled into her chest.

Natsuki was surprised, to say the least, but she put her arms around Shizuru and pulled her close. Her head rested atop Shizuru’s and she closed her eyes. It was easy to get lost in the silence. She thought she could hear her own heart beating rather loudly. It didn’t seem that Shizuru heard it though.

“I should apologize myself. I was tired and let my emotions get the best of me. I didn’t mean to react that way.”

“It’s all right,” replied Natsuki softly.

“I guess it was a bit funny, wasn’t it?” She chuckled when there was no reply from Natsuki. She was sure the girl feared giving a response to that after what had just happened. She knew that Natsuki was afraid to speak what was on her mind because in her heart she didn’t want to hurt Shizuru anymore that night.

Time passed and the two stayed curled against each other. Eventually, Natsuki yawned and started to extract herself from Shizuru. Shizuru only held on more tightly. “Shizuru, what are you doing? I should go before it gets much later. You’ve got class tomorrow—“

“Stay the night with me. I’d rather you stayed,” whispered Shizuru.

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to be late for class tomorrow.”

“Are you hinting that we might be doing something other than sleeping?” asked Shizuru playfully. She couldn’t see it in the darkness, but she knew that Natsuki was surely blushing at the comment.

“N-no! Why would we do something like that?” she retorted. She turned her head and looked away, hoping to get the blush that warmed her entire face under control. She coughed and turned around.

Shizuru pulled Natsuki closer to her and leaned up to her ear. “I’m happy you chose to stay with me,” she whispered. She placed a soft kiss upon Natsuki’s lips. “I think it’s the best thing that’s happened all day.”

I like this one shot a lot! Rachy made Shizuru into a really selfish person. ;p After such a hectic schedule like Shizuru, she deserves her enjoyment with Natsuki, even if it's at her expense. The fic made me think a lot about myself, multitasking like mad without end. Seeing my gf everyday is enough for me.

Best quote:

“You don’t listen, do you? It’s like I’m talking to a wall, a lavender wall!”

The charm of the fanfiction overalls comes from Shizuru able to cheer up instantly upon seeing Natsuki. Nothing else in the world should matter with your beloved around. And Natsuki laughing in an honest fashion at Shizuru's harmless swear was a nice touch. When Shizuru gets embarrassed about something in any Mai-fanfic, it's kinda like the author gives her a taste of her own medicine. :) Many Shizuru fans don't understand that Shizuru is not perfect.

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Mai-X-ProjectThe law of physics: Whenever there's this much gay in one room, Shizuru manifests!When Shizuru said "Ara" for the first time, the "Ara" broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.

*grin* She's not perfect. I think judamacaby enjoyed the fact that she waitressed and had messed up on a paper or two. I also loved the wall exchange, especially where Shizuru baited Natsuki. And yes, she swore :D It kinda happened and so I figured it'd be a good turnaround from the usual Shizuru laughing at Natsuki's expense.